COVID-19 memorial unveiled in Watertown’s Thompson Park | Health Matters | nny360.com – NNY360

WATERTOWN A memorial was unveiled Tuesday morning in Thompson Park near the Rotary Pavilion in remembrance of those who lost their lives during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Allison Gorham, chair of the COVID-19 Memorial Committee, also decorates the South Massey Street Island near Clinton Street. She put up a temporary memorial for members of the community who died from the pandemic.

Gorham said she was then asked if she knew if the city was planning to put up a permanent monument.

Fast forward to today, three years later, and we finally have a proper memorial in place. This isnt a happy occasion; honoring people who have died, whether from wars or accidents or some other unexpected tragedy is never joyous. It is a somber moment, she said.

Rewinding back to March 2020, when many people mark the pandemic starting in the United States, little was known, Gorham said.

There was so much uncertainty about the disease, except that it was killing thousands and thousands of people, and ultimately, millions, she said.

The monument has waves on the black base as a representation of the water that surrounds the north country, a blue sphere which represents the world, and Remembering those who have died from Covid-19 in white writing.

This memorial stands as a reminder, even if we didnt know anyone who passed away or was infected by the virus, but in that period, every single one of us was affected. It stands as a reminder and a place of peace and comfort to all in our community who lost someone to COVID and didnt have the opportunity to formally mourn their passing because of the restrictions that were in place, Gorham said.

Gorham thanked current and former members of Watertown City Council and city staff for their help along with the Northern New York Community Foundation, BCA Architects, Jeff Weldon, Acquiring Monuments, and T.F. Wright & Sons Granite.

The three-year project started when Gorham looked up memorials and found one she liked from a company in Washington State. She then changed the design and the company from Washington worked alongside T.F. Wright & Sons Granite in Carthage.

The memorial cost between $43,000 and $45,000 and the money was raised through a matching grant with the Northern New York Community Foundation.

We lost people, and we needed to have some way to remember that, Gorham said.

Gorham hopes that when people who were affected by the pandemic walk past the monument they know that were not going to forget them.

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COVID-19 memorial unveiled in Watertown's Thompson Park | Health Matters | nny360.com - NNY360